Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Preschool teachers --- Accreditation --- Evaluation. --- Head Start Program (U.S.)

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Employment issues are the most serious problems facing South Africa currently. Among these are the problems of unemployment, as well as underemployment or lack of decent work for the already employed, compounded by labour markets that are generally less than efficient in job search and matching. Unemployment in South Africa, by narrow standards, is approximately 25 percent, an extraordinarily high level, made even more worrying by its stagnancy or growth at different times over the past decade. However, although such levels of unemployment have detrimental effects on all members of society, they do affect groups differentially. Thus, unemployment rates are consistently, significantly higher for women, Africans, people from rural areas, and the less educated. Unemployment is highest, too, amongst the youth in South Africa, and much higher than international norms, despite rising unemployment amongst youth globally in the past decade. In South Africa, youth is officially defined as people aged between 14 and 35 years old; however, this is not in line with international definitions, which usually demarcate the 16 to 24 year old group. The aim of this paper is therefore to shed some light on the employment process of young South Africans and to investigate firm level responses to the implementation of a targeted hiring voucher for young job seekers aged 20-24. The first section of the paper outlines the conceptual framework used to investigate factors that determine employment of young workers and the impact of a targeted wage subsidy. The second section presents findings from a firm survey illustrating the firm characteristics that are associated with employing young workers and responses to a hypothetical wage voucher. The third section discusses the findings in the light of the theory while the fourth section concludes.

Accreditation --- Economics --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Human Capital --- Labor Markets --- Labor Policies --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Older Workers --- Productivity --- Schools --- Skilled Workers --- Social Protections and Labor --- Taxation & Subsidies --- Unemployment --- Universities --- Wages --- Younger Workers --- Youth

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This report presents available evidence on adult education and training in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), differentiating two separate types: continuing vocational education and training (CVET) for the employed, sought either by employers or individuals, and retraining and second chance education for the non?employed. This paper presents available evidence on the extent and patterns of lifelong learning in ECA. It argues that advancing adult education and training in ECA is important not only to meet the new skills demands but also to respond to a rapidly worsening demographic outlook across most of the region. While it is not equally important for all ECA countries, adult education and training should be high on the agenda of those ECA economies that are closest to the technological frontier and facing a demographic decline, such as the new European Union (EU) member States and Russia. The paper lays out a framework for government action to advance adult learning in ECA through a mix consisting of policy coordination between government and the enterprise sector, a sound regulatory regime and appropriate financial incentives.

Access & Equity in Basic Education --- Access to Information --- Accreditation --- Adult Education --- Continuing Education --- Disadvantaged Groups --- Early Childhood --- Early Childhood Education --- Education --- Education For All --- Educational Institutions --- Gender --- Higher Education --- Inservice Training --- Labor Market --- Lifelong Learning --- Literacy --- Lower Secondary Education --- Mobility --- Occupations --- Participation Rates --- Per Capita Income --- Primary Education --- Problem Solving --- Quality of Education --- Reading --- Secondary Education --- Skilled Workers --- Teachers --- Tertiary Education --- Universities --- Vocational Schools --- Youth

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This technical note highlights some of the work the World Bank has recently conducted in support of the growth agenda outlined in the Europe 2020 strategy. The World Bank is actively supporting the new member states, as well as accession and neighborhood countries, in achieving the Europe 2020 targets of smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. The engagement consists of policy and program lending in these areas as well as analytical work. This note focuses on highlighting some of the Bank's analytical Europe 2020 work pertaining to raising employment rates and skills levels as well as to spur innovation and technology absorption. The technical note is structured as follows: section one provides the macroeconomic background, and highlights how the economies of the European Union (EU)-10 countries were steadily catching up with those of the EU-15 countries, but then the catching-up was interrupted by the onset of the global financial and economic crisis. Section two focuses on low employment rates in EU-10 countries, particularly among older and less-educated workers, women, and minority groups, in particular Roma, and highlights some key issues in the organization of labor markets and labor market related institutions. Section three focuses more specifically on skills development across the life cycle, with a brief discussion on selected policy areas: (1) expansion of early childhood development programs to universal coverage; (2) adopting ambitious, comprehensive approaches to schooling to support higher levels of generic skills for all; and (3) strengthening access to and efficiency of tertiary education through higher education financing reform and data collection as a basis for system steering. Section four focuses on innovation and technology absorption, highlighting how more and more efficient research and development (R&D) spending will boost economic growth in EU10 countries.

Accounting --- Accreditation --- Adult Education --- Capital Markets --- Child Care --- Civil Service --- Early Childhood --- Early Retirement --- Economic Recovery --- Education --- Educational Attainment --- Employment --- Equality --- Expenditures --- Fiscal Policy --- Foreign Direct Investment --- Gender --- Higher Education --- Human Capital --- Human Rights --- Insurance --- Job Creation --- Job Search Assistance --- Labor Costs --- Labor Market --- Labor Markets --- Labor Mobility --- Labor Policies --- Life Expectancy --- Lifelong Learning --- Literacy --- Minimum Wage --- Older Workers --- Private Investment --- Private Sector --- Privatization --- Public Finance --- Purchasing Power --- Quality Assurance --- Quality of Education --- Recession --- Schools --- Science and Technology Development --- Secondary Education --- Skilled Workers --- Skills Development and Labor Force Training --- Social Inclusion --- Social Protections and Labor --- Teachers --- Technical Assistance --- Technology Innovation --- Technology Transfer --- Tertiary Education --- Total Factor Productivity --- Venture Capital --- Vulnerable Groups